Sunday, 2 November 2014

“Why Won’t People Adopt Siblings?” asks the Sky News article
for the start of National Adoption Week. However, sometimes it’s the system
that fails not the lack of prospective adoptive parents.

In 2006 my husband and I started our journey to become
adoptive parents.We decided we would
like to adopt not only older children but siblings. We felt with our age and
experiences we would be more suited to dealing with the issues around older
children.We also thought our lifestyle
would better suit two or more children.

The adoption process is painfully slow.We made enquiries in October 2006.It was March 2007 before we had our first
appointment with a Social Worker.July
2007 the application process started and in February 2008 we sat outside a
council office waiting for the decision as to whether or not we would be
allowed to adopt.After a long wait the
chairwoman of the adoption board came to see us and said our application was
approved.

A few weeks after our approval a social worker daughter of
some friends, said she knew of some children waiting to be adopted and she
thought we would be a perfect match for the kids.But she had encountered a problem – we weren’t
showing on the list of approved adopters for siblings.

We contacted our Social Worker who said to be patient as we
had our approval and the system just needed to be updated with our
details.The administrator had been sick
and it could be a couple of weeks before she was up to date with her workload
and we appeared on the system.

A few more weeks went by and we still weren’t on the
system.We contacted our Social Worker
again and asked her to investigate.This
time she came back and said there was a mistake and we had not been approved to
adopt siblings.We were stunned. For over 2 months we believed we had been
approved as adoptive parents for siblings and we hadn’t. Nobody knew why we had been declined.As far as everyone was concerned we were
approved it was just the written decision from the adoption board didn’t match
the verbal confirmation they had given us.We asked about appealing the decision and were informed there was
nothing we could do.We had to accept
the decision.

I can’t help wondering how many other prospective parents have
come forward to adopt siblings and encountered similar system failures.

We seem to have a system that fails not only the children
waiting to be adopted but also the prospective parents.It’s a system that has for too many years
been admonished regularly by politicians but yet still fails to deliver the
standard of service everyone needs or deserves.

As publicity starts for National Adoption Week my hope is
that we get a system that works well for all concerned especially the venerable
kids who just need a loving home.My
husband and I may not have been approved to adopt siblings but we were approved
to adopt a child.We now have a
beautiful daughter who has been with us for six years.

Wednesday, 8 October 2014

She worked hard and become a famous singer.Not only famous but part of one of the most
successful girl groups in history – The Spice Girls.Victoria Beckham married David a very famous
footballer.They have a marriage that
has survived for 15 years which is very unusual for famous couples. Mrs
Beckham changed careers and became an award winning fashion designer with an
estimated £30 million business fashion empire and a couple of weeks ago opened
her first store in London. Only last week she was made a special ambassador for
the UNAIDS.I think you can call
Victoria Beckham successful.

Now let’s look at a woman I know who is 55 years old.Her body is riddled with arthritis and she
struggles with everyday activities.Her
doctors tell her she should be in a wheelchair but she refuses to use it or
even a walking stick.Instead, she
pushes herself to live as normal a life as she can with daily walks and an
exercise regime.How many people would
call her successful?

The sad truth is not many. Yet this woman is very successful
in her own right.

The dictionary states the definition of success is
achievement. The 55 year old has a goal
to continue walking unaided as long as she possibly can.Everyday she manages to walk is a day of
achievement or success.So why don’t we
recognise this and call her successful?

Have we become so conditioned in society or blasé that we
only recognise success if fame and wealth comes with it?

Maybe it’s time to take a step back. Look at all the
successes around us and give genuine praise where praise is due.

Friday, 17 January 2014

Being a landlord is easy if you know the rules and
regulations.Twenty years ago if you owned
a rental property it was simple to let it.The landlord checked the roof didn’t leak, that it had four solid walls
and a floor, set the rent level and found a tenant for life.Then sat back and watched the money roll in
but today the world of the landlord is changing.Successive UK and EU governments have
introduced so much legislation the landlord doesn’t know from one day to the
next if the let on his property is legal or illegal.Fines can be hefty.Prison is a possibility.Landlords can even lose the right to evict a
tenant.Here we look at some of the
important legislation a landlord needs to comply with

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) – before any property
can be advertised for rent it must have an EPC report.The report must be shown in full to the
prospective tenants before they make a decision about the property.Fixed penalties of £200 are applied if the
landlord fails to obtain one.

Gas Safety Certificates – All properties must have a current
gas safety certificate which has to be updated every 12 months.The Health and Safety Executive are able to
prosecute or imprison any landlord found not having a valid certificate.

Information Commissioners Office (ICO) – it seems reasonable
enough that the landlord will want to know as much as possible about the person
they will be letting the property to.They
will want to be sure the prospective tenant can afford to rent the property,
will look after it and does not have a poor credit history. But did you know as soon as the landlord starts
asking this information under the data protection act they need to be
registered with the ICO.Fines can vary
from 3000 euros to 500,000 euros for breaches of the data protection act.

Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) – if a landlord has a
property that is classed as an HMO they will need to be licensed with the local
council to be able to let the property.Each council has it’s own licensing requirements and fees. Failure to
register with the council can result in prosecution and fines up to
£20,000.If more people than the license
approves live in the property another £20,000 fine, a further £5,000 fine for
each breach of the license and the right to evict the tenant.The landlord could also have to repay any
rent collected.

Landlord Accreditation – many councils in the UK require the
landlord to be accredited if they want to rent a property.Accreditation is a test that ensures the
landlord is up to date with current rules and regulations and continues to keep
themselves up to date through continuous learning.In Wales landlords are required to attend a
one day seminar and pass a test.In
England accreditation depends on the local council.Landlord Associations also run their own
accreditation schemes.

Health and Safety – every property needs to be assessed to
ensure it complies with Health and Safety rules.This is an assessment the landlord can do
themselves.It ensures tenants cannot
come to any harm while they occupy the property.Follow up checks should be done to ensure the
tenant does not cause any potential harm while renting the property.

Green Deal – with effect from October 2012 (in England) and
January 2013 (in Wales) landlords need to demonstrate they are continually
improving the energy efficiency of the property they are letting.Green Deal is a scheme aimed at helping
landlords fund improvements to their properties.From 2014 any property with an energy
efficiency report of G will no longer be allowed to be let.The plan is that over the coming years only
properties with a rating of A to D will be able to be let.

The world of the landlord is continually changing.Keeping up to date with current legislation
has never been more important.But, if
you know your rules and regulations letting a property in the UK is easy.

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About Me

A Day In The Life Of.
I am an Entrepreneur; Investor; Speaker and Writer. Known as The Homebiz Millionaire I help other people find their niche and develop their own Financial Freedom.
I have lived in England, Wales, France, New Zealand and Australia so I have a unique worldwide perspective.